UPDATE: A shocking budget proposal from the Trump administration threatens to cut the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget by nearly 44%, raising alarms among medical research leaders in Oklahoma. Dr. Andrew Weyrich, President of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF), warns that this drastic reduction, if implemented, could cripple vital medical research efforts.
The proposed cuts would shrink the NIH’s budget from $47 billion to just over $26 billion, marking an unprecedented shift that could severely impact research funding. “I’ve been in this for 40 some years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dr. Weyrich stated, expressing deep concern about the implications for ongoing and future medical projects.
Currently, the OMRF relies on the NIH for approximately 40% of its funding, making these potential cuts especially devastating. Dr. Weyrich noted that funding has already decreased in 2025 compared to the same period last year, with OMRF receiving less than $12 million in funding during the first five months of 2025. This figure represents less than half of the amount raised in the same timeframe last year, a situation he describes as “choppy” and “nerve-racking.”
The OMRF has a long history of collaboration with the NIH dating back to the 1950s. Dr. Weyrich emphasized the dire consequences of reduced funding: “Our ability to recruit new investigators and support their research will be significantly hampered.” He highlighted that critical advancements in fields like immunotherapy and hypertension treatments were made possible through past NIH funding, underscoring the human stakes involved.
“This is about making discoveries that impact lives,” Dr. Weyrich added. He remains hopeful for bipartisan support to protect NIH funding, stressing that “saving lives and advancing health is something that everybody wants to do.”
While the proposal has yet to be finalized, its potential effects are already reverberating through the research community. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology has also voiced its concerns, reaching out to Congressional leaders to advocate against these cuts.
As the situation develops, all eyes will remain on Congress and the NIH for updates on the budget proposal. The OMRF and other research organizations are actively working to push back against this alarming budget reduction.
Stay tuned for more updates as this critical story unfolds.
